


Fireflies

by Wiarda



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: (Mild) Angst, Attempted Murder, Fluff, Humour, Marauders' Era, Multi, lycanthrophobia, metamorphmagi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-24
Updated: 2012-10-24
Packaged: 2017-11-16 23:11:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/544867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wiarda/pseuds/Wiarda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Marauders are under the impression that their seventh and last year at Hogwarts will be just like all the others, but three Ravenclaw girls will make sure that won't be the case.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fireflies

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic I've written ages ago in Dutch (the original version can be found [on here](http://www.quizlet.nl/stories/69493/fireflies--remussirius/). I translated it into English as a practice. Since it's quite old and I posted it on the Dutch website in very short chaps, it's not really like what you can usually find on AO3. Hopefully, you'll like it anyway. Please tell me if you find a mistake. Normal feedback is also very welcome!
> 
> PS; I have no idea how much chapters this fic will have once I'm done translating it all, but the Dutch wordcount is around 25k. (:

“Get up, lazy arse.” A pillow landed on Sirius' head, which caused James to call out; “Boom, headshot!”. When he realised his friend didn't give a damn about his silly attempt to wake him, another pillow was thrown. Just one second later, one more followed.

“Please just go to hell, James.”

“Good morning to you too, sleeping beauty,” the black-haired boy responded cheerfully. When the eldest of the two opened his eyes, he saw how James hopped through the dorm, like a four year old girl. He laughed.

“That's a better mood,” Remus smiled. Apparently, he'd been awake for quite a while; he was the only one that was already dressed and his sandy blonde hair was still damp from the shower he'd taken. It was quite the opposite of James, who now tried to put on his jeans with the weirdest movements. He looked a bit like a caterpillar when he did that.

“Wait, is it just half seven?” Peter looked surprised at his watch.

Sirius frowned at him. “If that's true, I'll slaughter you all. I could've slept at least one more hour!” he groaned, frustrated. He took one of the pillows on his bed and pressed his face into it, so that his annoyed growl was muffled by it.

“Go ahead and slaughter them, it's half seven indeed. I almost wanted to call the Daily Prophet to report that James is awake before nine AM,” Remus joked.

“Before you'll kill me with all your pillows, please allow me to explain,” James said, with an irritatingly happy air around him. He even made those little hand gestures he always made when he talked about something he liked; usually Quidditch, or pranks. “I've been informed by a very reliable source that Lily and Snivellus had a fight ---”

“Did you spy on them again?” Remus sighed. James shot him an annoyed look.

“No, I completely coincidentally bumped into them when Lily went off to him. You should've seen it, it was really amusing. He kept begging if she could forgive what he did. I'm proud of her.” His tone sounded like he was proud indeed, but Sirius couldn't really care less.

“So that's why I had to wake up early? To listen to the stories of your failed lovelife?”

“No,” James went on. “I decided that I'm the perfect shoulder to cry on. I mean, I was upset when Pricky ran away too, so I completely understand her pain.”

Peter burst out laughing and even Sirius, the King of the Morning Blues, couldn't stop a small smile from appearing on his face. Pricky was James' old, ugly rat that magically disappeared last year. Only Remus didn't laugh.

“And that's why we have to come with you?” Sirius asked.

“Didn't want to go alone. That's boring.”

Sirius rolled his eyes --- he'd never really understood that boy.

*

“Good morning, Remus.”

“Mornin', Lily.” Although she didn't like the rest of the Marauders, Lily always acted very open and nice to Remus. It was something he didn't really understand; she was one of the few people that knew about his 'monthly issues', and yet she kept being nice to him. That was something only Lily could do. And the rest of his friends, of course, but that was still different.

“What's on the roster today?” she asked. She played a bit with a baked egg, but it was clear that she wasn't hungry.

“Potions with Ravenclaw first, then Muggle Studies with Slytherin ---” Her face fell, “And then Defence Against Dark Arts.” He tried to read her face, but in one second she'd managed to create a hard, unreadable mask. So, there was no other option left than to ask. “Did you have a fight with Severus?”

She bit her lip and looked away. Her eyes were damp. “Yes. He called me names last year, so he wanted to apologise...” A tear rolled to her chin, “But I didn't want to listen. I yelled at him that he didn't have to try. I hoped he wouldn't listen to me, but he di-”

“Good morning, Lils,” James interrupted with a smile, as he sat down next to her. Remus shot him a warning glance, but he didn't notice. “What's on your mind on this beautiful day?”

Lily's sadness was gone, but not thanks to James' great shoulder to cry on. No, it'd made place for something different; anger. “D'you know what's 'on my mind'? How to get rid of you,” she sneered, as she slapped him in the face. James looked completely overwhelmed, until he touched his red cheek and winched. That wasn't supposed to happen.

*

“Mister Black, would you please be so kind to keep your mouth shut?” asked Slughorn, with clear annoyance in his voice. Sirius tried to suppress his chuckles, but every time he thought about breakfast (or actually, the little 'accident' during breakfast), he burst out in laughter again. The fact that James kept grumbling next to him in a very moody way, only made it worse.

“Yeah, Black. Shut the fuck up,” he grunted, as he scattered a whole jar of powdered moonstone into their cauldron. He didn't really pay attention to his work, and unfortunately, Slughorns warning “MISTER POTTER, LOOK OUT! THAT'S TOO MUCH!” came too late to save the potion. The cauldron (Sirius' cauldron, to be exact, that bastard was going to buy him a new one) exploded, and the whole classroom was decorated with splashes of black, failed Draught of Peace.

“Well done, Potter. The only thing you have yet to learn is how to keep the contents of your cauldron _inside your cauldron_. As soon as you know how to do that, you'll pass your O.W.Ls with ease,” a Ravenclaw girl grinned. Sirius looked at her with a surprised expression; he was about to say something sarcastic like that, but she was quicker.

“Miss Stanley, that's enough. Do you know what --- for the next month, you can help mister Potter during Potions class, by assisting him. Perhaps that you can try and avoid him making a mess of the classroom once again. Your friend can help mister Black. Or so I hope.”

The latter sounded almost as if he'd already given up trying to teach Sirius something; which was justly, he had to admit. He'd given up on paying attention during his classes ages ago.

A few seats were swapped and soon a girl with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a soft smile sat down next to Sirius. She very different from her friend, that had made the sneering comment. She'd brought her own kettle, in which the potion was already simmering quietly. Judging by the pinkish colour it had, it was almost done. Sirius smirked; this was going to be the easiest month ever.

*

Muggle Studies was one of Remus' easiest subjects, because he considered most of the 'Muggle things' normal. At his home, they watched telly as entertainment, or they played a board game. Of course they knew board games in the magic world, but as soon as you started to talk about Parcheesi, they gave you odd looks.

“... and that's why there's going to be a big Christmas gala in three weeks. The exact time and location will be noted on a nice Muggle poster in your dormitories. So, keep an eye on that!” Professor Smith exulted enthusiastically. Most of the students were just as happy with this news, but these were mostly the girls. The boys didn't really seem to care, and the Slytherin boys even less. It looked like Snape became even paler than he usually was. 

“You can go,” Smith added. Everyone packed their bags as quickly as they could, since it was lunchtime, but Remus took his time. He didn't really feel like going to a gala, and someone else appeared to share that thought. Lily had been the only female person in the room that hadn't showed a spark of joy at Smith's words. The only thing she looked at was Snape, who was sitting two rows in front of her. It hurt Remus to see her like that. That jolly, silly, but also calm and caring Lily had made place for a pile of misery and sorrow.

For the first time in his life, Remus wished she'd listened to Severus. Perhaps he didn't like him, but he made her happy, and he could make sure that one of his friends felt okay again. Perhaps he should talk to him.

*

“I don't feel well.”

Remus stood up, his hand pressed against his mouth, and ran to the closest toilets. Sirius had seen it coming; the smaller boy had looked pale all day and the scars of last month were more visible than usual. Today was the first day of full moon again, so it was predictable that he was sick now.

“You are coming with us tonight, right?” asked James in a warning tone. Peter nodded obediently.

“Sorry I let you boys down last time. It was kinda hard weasel out of McGonagall's imposition. She thought the company of two friends was enough.”

“Well, no,” Sirius said with his mouth full. He tried to stuff another bun inside, but it wouldn't fit. “Hu chuh noh ---” He chewed, swallowed and resumed; “D'you know how hard it is to freeze that bloody tree when you're as huge as we are? Pretty damn hard, I can tell you.”

Peter nodded, but James wasn't listening any more. His gaze was glued to a person sitting on the opposite side of the Gryffindor table, and Sirius didn't even have to look around to know that that person was Evans.

“Why don't you ask her to the gala?”

“Peter, she bitch slapped him, remember?”

“Bitch slapped who?” Nikki Prince, the girl Sirius worked with in Potions class, sat down next to him. Her hair was bound in a ponytail and her robes were notably neat. “Hey, Sirius... can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“I mean, in private. Please?” She fiddled with her sleeve, a sign of nervousness. Sirius'd had lots of girlfriends, more than James and Peter together (and Remus hadn't even kissed a girl in his life, let alone a relationship), so he had enough experience to tell that she was probably going to ask him to the prom. With the best poker face he could put on, he followed her to the hallway.

*

As soon as Remus'd left the Great Hall, with the excuse of being sick, he started to walk in a normal pace again. He wasn't sick, because he hadn't eaten anything yet. Sirius could've figured that out if he'd wanted to, but Remus knew that he wouldn't have bothered trying.

It didn't take him long to find the boy he was seeking. He sat in a window frame in the staircase and Remus had to admit, if he hadn't heard him sobbing quietly, he would've walked straight past him. It shocked the werewolf to see him like this; he had never been outstandingly strong and had always been a victim of bullying, but he never shed one tear on that. The endless shame James and his friends put him through, apparently didn't affect him that much. Lily did.

“Er, hey.” Severus jerked and turned around so quickly that he almost fell out of the window frame. As soon as he had regained his balance again, he jumped onto the floor and immediately turned his back at Remus again.

“What do you want?”

“To talk with you. Listen, I know we never have been good frien-”

“What do you wánt?” he snarled. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and finally dared to look at Remus. His heart sank into his shoes. Severus was the only one that unintentionally knew about his transformations and he feared that that would screw up his whole plan. He opened his mouth to repeat his sentence, but instead of that, a different question left his lips.

“Why did you cry?”

“If that's what you came for, you can go away. Wait, y'know what? Just go away anyway, stupid dog.”

“That's not what I meant!” Remus tried to soothe him, but the results were surprisingly unsuccesful. Severus' face darkened even more, but the youngest of the two decided to ignore that.

“It's about Lily --- no, don't walk away! Let me finish first. Lily has been sad ever since your fight. She wants nothing more than everything to be the way it was. You can do that for her, Severus.”

His expression became flat, emotionless. For one moment, Remus thought he was under the influence of the Imperius Curse because his eyes were so glassy, or that he was completely happy because of the news that Lily was sad because of him, but at that moment, he suddenly burst.

“Oh, is that what you think? You should've heard her! Swears I never thought she'd say out loud, curses and insults that I'd never had thrown at my head before --- and believe me, I'm used to quite a lot thanks to a certain werewolf,” He spat the word out as if it was a terrible disease, “and his stupid little friends. Oh, and today, she was talking to her friends about the best way to ask that swine of a friend of yours to the gala! She doesn't give a damn about my well-being, do you understand?”

Remus automatically tried to come with a good comeback, but then he realised that that wasn't necessary. It would only make the situation a lot more awkward than it already was. Somehow, he felt like he had to comfort Snape, something he never felt during James' teases.

A soft voice at the other side of the hallway made both of us look up abruptly.

“I- er... oh, sorry. I'm really terrible at things like this...” she sighed. She quickly put a strand of red hair behind her ear, inhaled deeply and tried again. “Wouldyouliketogotothegalawithme?”

“Excuse me?” asked a familiar voice. Lily inhaled again, clenched her fists in nervosity and tried once more.

“Would you like to go to the gala with me, next week?”

“Sorry?” James asked again, this time with a visible smirk. Lily gave him a soft punch in the arm and called: “Not funny! I was so nervous.”, before laughing along with him.

Remus couldn't suppress a smile when he saw both his friends being so happy, but that smile quickly disappeared when he heard Snape's angry footsteps higher up the stairs. Apparently, he'd seen everything as well.

*

They barely made it out of the Great Hall before Nikki took Sirius' wrist and pulled him outside. The December cold bit in his face, hands and neck and even fought it's way through his robes. The sound of creaking snow under his feet and the fact that he was about to be asked by a pretty girl compensated the cold.

“Shit, wrong choice of location,” Nikki mumbled, and she shivered. Judging by the goosebumps on her arms she was really just cold, and it hadn't been a direct invitation to warm her up, but Sirius didn't really care about that. He carefully wrapped an arm around her small waist and rubbed her arm. A shaky smile appeared on her expression as she hugged him back. Sirius couldn't hide the proud smirk on his face; perhaps she didn't notice, but this accept brought him a lot further.

“You wanted to speak me,” he reminded her. She looked up and her cheeks turned pink.

“Right, speak you... er, Sirius?”

“Hm?”

“Do you know if... er, does Peter already have anyone for the gala?” she asked.

Boom. He hadn't seen that one coming. Did she really wanted to ask Peter? Then why did she take Sirius outside --- or was she too shy to ask him herself? And, above all; did he just got friend-zoned by a cute Ravenclaw? Yes. For the first time in his life, Sirius had been friend-zoned. Shit. Numbers of explanations shot through his head; perhaps she was gay, or maybe she had a boyfriend at home. A Muggle boyfriend, yuck. Or --- or perhaps she really liked Peter...

“Why do you ask?” The question came out a lot more distant than intended, but luckily, she didn't notice. Sirius noticed that he subconsciously had released her again.

“Well, I actually wasn't allowed to say this, but Charlie --- you know, the girl that helps James with Potions --- has had a crush on him ever since last year. She wants to ask him out, but she's too afraid to crash and burn, you see.

Relief, that was all Sirius felt. She didn't like Peter, her friend did. He still had a good chance with this girl. “Well,” he smiled. “I think Peter is still as single as a lonely cactus in the middle of a desert. Your friend has no reason to worry.”

She smiled, said she'd pass it on and wrapped his arms around him again. He mirrored her moves, but only a second later she let go of him again.

“D'you have already have a date for the gala?” she asked, biting her lip. Sirius' smile turned into a grin.

“Why do you ask?”

“Your 'why do you ask' manages to make me dead nervous every time,” Nikki mumbled. He laughed out loud and luckily for him, she joined in. Finally, he decided to release her from her sufferings.

“Nope, still available. Would you want to go with me? Don't feel like going alone.”

She looked at him with narrowed eyes, like she expected him to say 'just joking!' afterwards, but when that didn't happen, she nodded. “Yeah. I'd love to, actually.”

She took his hand and together they walked back to the castle. Sirius couldn't stop grinning; he did it. In only two weeks time, he'd won Nikki Prince for himself.


End file.
